Jang-oh: Korean Eel The Korean twist on food is to add lots of little sauces and flavors and wrappings for the delicious grilled meats. I think that's what makes Korean food so comforting. I remember having eel at a Japanese restaurant back in the day and loving it, but each piece had to be savored slowly for after one bite, it was all gone. In Korean you can order a whole eel and they'll nail it to a board, fillet, dress, and broil it to perfection. Freshly grilled eel has a flavor that incomparable- the texture is skin is crispy, yet the flesh is gelatinous. Plus, you can have your eel done with soy, red chili paste, or plain with salt. To make an eel wrap, you get a leaf and top it with some slivers of raw ginger. Then put your piece of eel on that, dip it in the sauce and enjoy. I just found a very good one over at Nagwon-dong. It's called Gohyang. 서울시 종로구 낙원동 94 02-763-3142 Directions: Go out Jongno 3-ga exit 5 and make a right and go down the alley betwe...

Recently I took a weekend trip to Asan. Asan is the birthplace of the famous war hero, Admiral Yi Sun-shin. It is apparently also famous for their natural hot springs. I went to one of those hot springs and I can't say I was very impressed. The best part of the trip to Asan was going to this restaurant Yeon Chun (연춘) for Korean Roasted Eel. The restaurant is quite far from the train station. I think you can get close to the location by taking the subway, but we had to take a taxi and it cost about 16,000 won ($16.00) to get there. The restaurant is located right on a pond and the eating area is a dock right on the water. The area is very picturesque- it's surrounded by gnarled oak trees. Here is a view of the pond from our seat. The place is famous for the eel, so that's what I recommend you get. If you are not an eel fan, I'm sure that the Chicken Roasted with Vegetables is pretty good and I am intrigued by the eel porridge (장어죽) they have on the menu. You can get o...